Grade Level: EC-3 (3 year olds) ACTIVITY #1: For the first activity I did the autobiography cube. Because they are 3 year olds I introduced the idea of this cube but in a much larger scale (15x15cm). The cube was build for them and they had to work in separate construction papers that were then going to be glued to the (physical) cube. I divided the sides in the following way. 1) My picture (given) 2) My family (drawn and colored) 3) My favorite food (collage with magazines) 4) My class picture (given) 5) My favorite sport (paint) 6) What I do best (playdough sculpture) Working in number 2 was very easy for them because their family is one of the most concrete things they have and they have probably drawn this before. I could tell they also felt comfortable about the materials. This seamed easy for most of them. The kids who had trouble with this were the two who were going through a divorce. They were very talkative during this moment and they drew their whole family, but most important they drew their parents side by side. For side 3, the kids had a lot of fun but got a little carried away with the collage idea. The point was to glue their favorite foods and the activity got so out of focus that they started gluing everything they found that they enjoyed. I guess next time it would be useful to have bigger pictures so they could fit less things in the space. For side 5, I made a previous brainstorming to avoid them getting carried away with paint and just explore and loosing the objective of the activity. This way they planned and I could guide their work. For next time I would try to give them only thin brushes so that they can manage better their drawing abilities. Finally for side 6, I gave them clay so that they could create a sculpture which would represent the thing they do best. At first, it was a disaster! I collected all the playdough and modeled my experience. I showed them how using balls and worms we could build many things. I showed them that what I like doing is teaching so I made a blackboard and an apple. They all watched (surprising!) and then I asked each one to brainstorm an idea. When they had the idea I gave them playdough and it was time to work. Some of them managed it and some needed so much more support to get to their objective. When it was time to share their cube I asked for volunteers (I knew exactly who would raise their hand... because we teachers know our students). 5 hands came up. They were all very good speakers. They talked about their family (feeling proud), they talked about their foods in a very superficial and fast way (I guess this is not very exciting for them), they explained the sports part always linking to who they did it with and they talked about their sculpture (very briefly and concretely). As a reflection, I think this would be an excellent idea to do as the first unit of the year assessment. This unit is entitled WHO WE ARE and it is based in the child’s identity and what they are capable of doing.
ACTIVITY 2: For the second activity I did the Monster Mash. During the motivation stage they were all very happy. At first I guided and when we did it a second time they guided. Of course, they wanted to guide again and again. They were definitely engaged. Once it was over, and as they can’t write I split them up into two groups (7 kids guided by an adult). When they were in groups, they had to give the monster a name. After this they had to answer to the 5 following questions in a group: - What’s the monster’s name? - Where did he/she come from? - How’s his/her family? - What does he eat? - How is he different/alike to us? During the brainstorming the kids came up with lots of cool ideas. After they got to an agreement of the live of this monster, they were all given papers and asked to draw the monster in his “happy place”. The concept of the happy place was a very abstract thing at the beginning but then it got better as I gave concrete examples using some kids and some characters from different books. If I were to do this again I would love to introduce the concept of the happy place a week before so that there is not a deep interruption during the activity to explain this. One group decided that the monster was called monster. He came from another planet which had no trees. That was the reason he came to our planet. He had only one mommy and one daddy but 3 brothers and sisters. He ate plants. They could not find any characteristics that were alike. All the pictures showed different monsters but with their families. The environments varied from school, to a beach, to a forest. The second group decided that this was a monster called Mike Wasaousky. They clearly stablished that he had one eye and that he came from the closets. Even though you could see one or two students trying to drive the conversation/brainstorming away from the MONSERS INC. movie it was very difficult. In the end they surrendered and supported the idea. The kids also agreed that monsters had no families and that this particular monster liked to eat all types of vegetables. This was their most evident and alike characteristic. They started talking about the properties of the vegetables and decided that it was the right thing to do. They therefore drew him without a specific environment but always with a vegetable. As a reflection, I would also like to include this activity in our first unit of inquiry: who we are. This help the children to identify things that are different and alike as well as understanding that a difference is OK. I would also like to create the activity with the class as a whole group and then divide to individual work to do their drawings. With this perspective, a monster can be drawn on the board using the details they want to add, so they can all share the same monster.
ASSIGNMENT 6: Learning Matrix Work:
Alessia, Alexandra, Deborah and Veronica (PLEASE DO NOT ERASE, THIRD TIME WE POST IT)
ADHD
Condition of the brain that makes it difficult for students to control their behavior. Affects an estimated of 4 to 12 percent of all school age children, about 3 times more boys than girls. Multitasking is a way of life for kids these days and this causes them to loose their ability to focus and have more ADHD problems. Misdiagnoses of ADHD can represent have a dozen of other problems.
The student will… -Tune out what doesn’t interest him. -Get lost going from one simple task to another. -His imaginations revs up without warning. -Doesn’t pay attention -Day dream -Have trouble with peers, problems with social cues. -Be Impulsive, they will react before thinking about the consequences for their actions.
- Try to shut down any kind possible distractions. - Make sure a written plan is near the student. - Concentrate your attention on a particular thing. - Be specific in your explanation, make sure the student knows exactly what they need to do. - Give immediate positive feedback, making sure the child knows what they did right. - Look for different alternatives before you use medication. (Relaxation strategies, etc)
ASSIGNMENT 5:
My reflection concerning the difference between the brains' functions is that this is one of the millions of differences that nature has developed in human beings in order to develop in a society built based in difference. This obviously bounces off to the fact that we all have to develop tolerance and respect to enjoy life that salutes differences. This will also let you value what you have and have goals towards what you want to get to be, based on the differences we see on a daily life.
I do sometimes like to reflect on how some differences that we are given make you such an outcast in our society due to the fact that this' planet's society is built for one type of person and if your difference is fairly different you will feel much more of an outcast. What I mean is that a difference like being diagnosed with aspergers vs. having an extra toe, will be a much bigger challenge due to the way that this society is built.
ASSIGNMENT 4:
EC3 Think TAC TOE BOARD (3 year olds)
Describe and compare two different plants.
Construct a plant model using play dough.
Assemble your favorite plant “model” using construction blocks (big legos)
Assemble a plant “sculpture” using reusable materials from the class.
Assemble a poster and present it in front of the class, where you can find all the parts in a plant.
Draw a flower and all of its parts using construction paper, magic markers and crayons.
Draw in a three-block table, the three steps of the evolution of a plant.
Make a flower using construction paper to tear and glue to a bigger paper.
Explain step by step the process from seed to plant.
Alessia Cuneo, Alexandra Sabal, Deborah Muhlbauer, Veronica Saettone.
ASSIGNMENT 3:
Comic Activity: Video named Risktakers by Veronica and Alessia
ASSIGNMENT 2:
Reflecting on the differentiation techniques I feel like a lot of theory that we should use on a daily basis, has been refreshed. I do believe that as a teacher we are always so caught in so many deadlines and individual necessities that we forget what is really important: the kids and how to consider them as a single unique individual (multiplied by 15). I had really forgotten the need of giving my students the chance to explore learning in different ways. I think that due to the fact that this is their first approach to school, it is my job to present them to a pallet of experiences for them to explore. Through this approach, it is necessary to keep a close eye in how confortable they feel in each exploration because that will be the beggining of a greater development of their love for learning. This will help me as a teacher to group them according to the same interests and let them work upon a theme that they will feel naturally engaged on, and expressing their learning in their best way possible.
Something that I feel very comfortable with in the class is that due to the fact that kids who are below 5 years old develop in a month by month basis, there is still more to differentiate upon. This means that a boy who is 3 years and 2 months vs. a girl who is 3 years and 11 months are notoriously in two different moments not only on the development stage, and what they can achieve in specific age, but also in the interests they have. I find that the younger the kids are, the more you have to differentiate focusing on more than just the learning style and the multiple intelligence.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Name: Alessia Cuneo
EC-3 Teacher (Students between 3 and 4 year olds)
3 things I would like o share: 1) I love spending time with my family 2) I spend my free time at the beach 3) I think there would be no better job for me than teaching
Grade Level: EC-3 (3 year olds)
ACTIVITY #1: For the first activity I did the autobiography cube. Because they are 3 year olds I introduced the idea of this cube but in a much larger scale (15x15cm). The cube was build for them and they had to work in separate construction papers that were then going to be glued to the (physical) cube. I divided the sides in the following way.
1) My picture (given)
2) My family (drawn and colored)
3) My favorite food (collage with magazines)
4) My class picture (given)
5) My favorite sport (paint)
6) What I do best (playdough sculpture)
Working in number 2 was very easy for them because their family is one of the most concrete things they have and they have probably drawn this before. I could tell they also felt comfortable about the materials. This seamed easy for most of them. The kids who had trouble with this were the two who were going through a divorce. They were very talkative during this moment and they drew their whole family, but most important they drew their parents side by side.
For side 3, the kids had a lot of fun but got a little carried away with the collage idea. The point was to glue their favorite foods and the activity got so out of focus that they started gluing everything they found that they enjoyed. I guess next time it would be useful to have bigger pictures so they could fit less things in the space.
For side 5, I made a previous brainstorming to avoid them getting carried away with paint and just explore and loosing the objective of the activity. This way they planned and I could guide their work. For next time I would try to give them only thin brushes so that they can manage better their drawing abilities.
Finally for side 6, I gave them clay so that they could create a sculpture which would represent the thing they do best. At first, it was a disaster! I collected all the playdough and modeled my experience. I showed them how using balls and worms we could build many things. I showed them that what I like doing is teaching so I made a blackboard and an apple. They all watched (surprising!) and then I asked each one to brainstorm an idea. When they had the idea I gave them playdough and it was time to work. Some of them managed it and some needed so much more support to get to their objective.
When it was time to share their cube I asked for volunteers (I knew exactly who would raise their hand... because we teachers know our students). 5 hands came up. They were all very good speakers. They talked about their family (feeling proud), they talked about their foods in a very superficial and fast way (I guess this is not very exciting for them), they explained the sports part always linking to who they did it with and they talked about their sculpture (very briefly and concretely).
As a reflection, I think this would be an excellent idea to do as the first unit of the year assessment. This unit is entitled WHO WE ARE and it is based in the child’s identity and what they are capable of doing.
ACTIVITY 2:
For the second activity I did the Monster Mash. During the motivation stage they were all very happy. At first I guided and when we did it a second time they guided. Of course, they wanted to guide again and again. They were definitely engaged.
Once it was over, and as they can’t write I split them up into two groups (7 kids guided by an adult). When they were in groups, they had to give the monster a name. After this they had to answer to the 5 following questions in a group:
- What’s the monster’s name?
- Where did he/she come from?
- How’s his/her family?
- What does he eat?
- How is he different/alike to us?
During the brainstorming the kids came up with lots of cool ideas. After they got to an agreement of the live of this monster, they were all given papers and asked to draw the monster in his “happy place”. The concept of the happy place was a very abstract thing at the beginning but then it got better as I gave concrete examples using some kids and some characters from different books. If I were to do this again I would love to introduce the concept of the happy place a week before so that there is not a deep interruption during the activity to explain this.
One group decided that the monster was called monster. He came from another planet which had no trees. That was the reason he came to our planet. He had only one mommy and one daddy but 3 brothers and sisters. He ate plants. They could not find any characteristics that were alike. All the pictures showed different monsters but with their families. The environments varied from school, to a beach, to a forest.
The second group decided that this was a monster called Mike Wasaousky. They clearly stablished that he had one eye and that he came from the closets. Even though you could see one or two students trying to drive the conversation/brainstorming away from the MONSERS INC. movie it was very difficult. In the end they surrendered and supported the idea. The kids also agreed that monsters had no families and that this particular monster liked to eat all types of vegetables. This was their most evident and alike characteristic. They started talking about the properties of the vegetables and decided that it was the right thing to do. They therefore drew him without a specific environment but always with a vegetable.
As a reflection, I would also like to include this activity in our first unit of inquiry: who we are. This help the children to identify things that are different and alike as well as understanding that a difference is OK. I would also like to create the activity with the class as a whole group and then divide to individual work to do their drawings. With this perspective, a monster can be drawn on the board using the details they want to add, so they can all share the same monster.
ASSIGNMENT 6:
Learning Matrix Work:
(PLEASE DO NOT ERASE, THIRD TIME WE POST IT)
Affects an estimated of 4 to 12 percent of all school age children, about 3 times more boys than girls.
Multitasking is a way of life for kids these days and this causes them to loose their ability to focus and have more ADHD problems.
Misdiagnoses of ADHD can represent have a dozen of other problems.
-Tune out what doesn’t interest him.
-Get lost going from one simple task to another.
-His imaginations revs up without warning.
-Doesn’t pay attention
-Day dream
-Have trouble with peers, problems with social cues.
-Be Impulsive, they will react before thinking about the consequences for their actions.
- Make sure a written plan is near the student.
- Concentrate your attention on a particular thing.
- Be specific in your explanation, make sure the student knows exactly what they need to do.
- Give immediate positive feedback, making sure the child knows what they did right.
- Look for different alternatives before you use medication. (Relaxation strategies, etc)
ASSIGNMENT 5:
My reflection concerning the difference between the brains' functions is that this is one of the millions of differences that nature has developed in human beings in order to develop in a society built based in difference. This obviously bounces off to the fact that we all have to develop tolerance and respect to enjoy life that salutes differences. This will also let you value what you have and have goals towards what you want to get to be, based on the differences we see on a daily life.
I do sometimes like to reflect on how some differences that we are given make you such an outcast in our society due to the fact that this' planet's society is built for one type of person and if your difference is fairly different you will feel much more of an outcast. What I mean is that a difference like being diagnosed with aspergers vs. having an extra toe, will be a much bigger challenge due to the way that this society is built.
ASSIGNMENT 4:
ASSIGNMENT 3:
Comic Activity:
Video named Risktakers by Veronica and Alessia
ASSIGNMENT 2:
Reflecting on the differentiation techniques I feel like a lot of theory that we should use on a daily basis, has been refreshed. I do believe that as a teacher we are always so caught in so many deadlines and individual necessities that we forget what is really important: the kids and how to consider them as a single unique individual (multiplied by 15). I had really forgotten the need of giving my students the chance to explore learning in different ways. I think that due to the fact that this is their first approach to school, it is my job to present them to a pallet of experiences for them to explore. Through this approach, it is necessary to keep a close eye in how confortable they feel in each exploration because that will be the beggining of a greater development of their love for learning. This will help me as a teacher to group them according to the same interests and let them work upon a theme that they will feel naturally engaged on, and expressing their learning in their best way possible.
Something that I feel very comfortable with in the class is that due to the fact that kids who are below 5 years old develop in a month by month basis, there is still more to differentiate upon. This means that a boy who is 3 years and 2 months vs. a girl who is 3 years and 11 months are notoriously in two different moments not only on the development stage, and what they can achieve in specific age, but also in the interests they have. I find that the younger the kids are, the more you have to differentiate focusing on more than just the learning style and the multiple intelligence.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Name: Alessia Cuneo
EC-3 Teacher (Students between 3 and 4 year olds)
3 things I would like o share:
1) I love spending time with my family
2) I spend my free time at the beach
3) I think there would be no better job for me than teaching